A spaceship POT launched a mission on Monday to explore the moon Europa Jupiter and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean could hold the keys to life.
Europa Clipper will take five and a half years to reach Jupiter, where it will enter orbit around the giant gas planet and approach Europa in dozens of radiation-bathed flybys.
Scientists are almost certain that a deep, global ocean exists beneath Europa’s icy crust. And where there’s water, there could be life, making this moon one of the most promising places to look for it.
Europa Clipper will not seek life; It does not have life detectors. Instead, the spacecraft will focus on the ingredients needed to sustain life, searching for organic compounds and other clues while peering beneath the ice for suitable conditions.
SpaceX began Clipper on its 3 billion kilometer (1.8 million mile) journey, launching the spacecraft on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. An hour later, the spacecraft separated from the upper stage, floated away, and called home.
“Please say goodbye to Clipper on his way to Europe,” announced NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory flight director Pranay Mishra from Southern California.
“The science on this is really captivating,” NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free told The Associated Press at the launch site. Scientists are still learning about the depths of our own ocean, “and here we are looking so far away.”
The $5.2 billion mission was nearly derailed.
NASA only learned in the spring that Clipper’s transistors might be more vulnerable to Jupiter’s intense radiation field than anticipated. Clipper will support the equivalent of several million chest X-rays during each of the 49 flybys of Europe. The space agency spent months reviewing everything before concluding in September that the mission could continue as planned.
Hurricane Milton added to the anxiety, delaying the launch for several days.
“What a great day. “We are very excited”said JPL Director Laurie Leshin after takeoff.